Thursday, February 6, 2014

Patching and Preserving

As the weathermen predicted, the snow began following shortly after dawn yesterday, and continued throughout the day until evening. Emma and I were out at 7:00 am, and it took her about three and a half minutes of racing around to destroy the pristine first layer of snow. :-) By 10:00, the rapidly falling snow had erased all traces of her tracks leaving a perfectly smooth surface once again. When I wasn't out shoveling, I spent the day repairing some old "quilts."

They belong to a man whose grandmother made them, I believe, probably in the 1930s or 1940s back in Oklahoma. These were not decorative quilts, but rather utilitarian, simply meant to keep people warm. The bottom layer is muslin, the inner part in one case is a blanket, and they are tied every few inches with yarn instead of being quilted through the layers.

The fabrics themselves are an eclectic assortment of cottons and feed sacks. It appears that when something would wear out, she would simply cut a new square or rectangle from some other fabric and sew this patch on, and so that is what I have done. Some of the fabrics may have been recycled clothing items which are now quite thin. I faced a problem yesterday as the insides of one quilt was a tangled mass of some type of twisted fiber. What to do? I couldn't insert a piece of batting as the ties were so close together. Finally, I got a bright idea. I used Misty Fuse to attach a piece of batting to the back of a fabric square which I then sewed over the worn spot.

The green bunny patch was one of several that I added yesterday. I try to use reproduction fabrics so the patches are not so noticeable.The "quilts" are incredibly heavy and after years and layers of patching impossibly thick to repair by machine, so it was hand sewing all day. Actually, I didn't mind. I pulled up The Quilt Show on my laptop and Alexis Anderson and Ricky Tims kept me company while I worked.

I feel a sort of kinship with the woman who made these quilts. These quilts mean the absolute world to her grandson, and so when repairs are needed I am happy to make them. As quilters, we can only hope that our quilts will be so loved and treasured.

About Me

After thirty-four wonderful years, I'm now a retired ELA middle school teacher who has totally embraced la dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. No, that's not true, it's just that now I have the luxury of time to quilt, photograph, travel, get fit, play the flute, and learn Italian.

Followers

Follow by Email

Photography

All photos on the pages of this blog are copyrighted. Please do not use them for any purpose without first obtaining permission from me. Leave a comment on the post which has the photo you are interested in, and I will respond.